Show HN: I built a dashboard of official data ahead of French elections (opens in new tab)

I don't believe this to be a good thing. If voting differently doesn't make a difference, then why vote? Is it actually a democracy if elections don't have any impact?

Just as an example: in Germany there is now a SPD led government, with the Greens and the FDP, after a long time of CDU led government. Many people voted to see some real changes, e.g. when it comes to environmental policies or social topics like wealth gaps, low minimum wage, ... If after 4 years of an SPD led government, the people don't see and feel any real change, the only thing they can do is move to more extremist parties.

There is also some weird mental gymnastics going on when it comes to the power of the state. During the election campaigns, all candidates promise big changes. Once elected, they will tell you that they don't have the power to actually do it, and claim some outside forces are stopping them. People also at the same time expect politicians to be able to mage big changes, but don't actually believe that it is possible. The only big changes I can remember that were actually made were mostly negative.

I moved to Hong Kong, which has its own issues. Out of love for a human being, for sure, but let s say I didnt convince that sweet other to move to France hehe. She would have if I asked, but as an unemployed english speaking Pakhistani in France, she would have had more trouble than me in a fully employed society like HK.

It's disfunctional if you live in it and pay taxes. For me we waste our taxes if we cant make a balanced budget, it s not even a crazy philosophy: we live beyond our means and borrow from others to calm down the electorate, we re cheating. In Hong Kong my taxes go to a surplus, you wont hear me criticise the gov much, because at least they got their basics right. I pay my 12k USD yearly with a proud smile that I contribute to building something that s coherent if not perfectly democratic. While I paid my 2k euros in France grumbling it s all going to waste anyway. You can also guess the salary increase you have working in a place where unemployment is a meaningless concept, because no welfare.

I dislike the US as much as the next guy and do not see it as a proper model. Let s not even talk of tax surplus there. Germany sounds like they try to do politics the right way but it s not like I know it all that much beyond their results.

I would say it's getting better, maybe not to the point I d come back, probably because like I smelled, Macron helped unwind some of our social rigidity, but from the look of it (my families and friends back on the motherland), he made so many people seethe with rage with his "we must adapt or die" attitude that he ravaged the moderate parties to the profit of the populists on both side who want to reassure that we can unwind everything because none of our problems are of our own making...

But yes, def positive, def happy from abroad, and def coming back when Macron-like consensus is at 60% rather than 30, anything less means it's going to come back.

As for the root cause I think it's because we misunderstand what we are: a small country dependent on Germany's benevolence to continue with our post war marshall plan attitude. We must produce, we must invent, we must adapt, we must sacrifice. But instead we whine, we fight on the street and we vote for populist comfort that we're still the great napoleonic empire, light of the Universe, that s the issue. And yes, I know im whining here too :D Also note at least 70% of french people disagree with me, so, grain of salt...